Blog Archives

Cinderella & Zombies is a 34 chapter novella by the author, Emily Casey. It’s pretty much what it says on the tin: Cinderella meets the hordes of the undead. Insane? Yes. Bad? Actually…no.

Taking the traditional tale of Cinderella we meet Cinders (nickname for the main heroine), but instead of being made to work like a slave for her step-mother and step-sisters, she is one of the few city-folk helping out and battling the zombie outbreak. A plague/virus has descended upon the land of Fae, transforming citizens who were unfortunate enough to be bitten into flesh hungry zombies. The king of Fae decides however that during the crisis would be a perfect time to hold a ball and find his son, Prince Kent, a bride?!?!?!

This is a fun retelling of the classic tale that moves along at a good speed. The action his high paced as you would expect from a story about fighting zombies, and the odd spark of humour is thrown in here and there.

It’s also nice to have a female character that is actually a strong female role model, and not one that is hinted at being one. For once we have a character that is compassionate, smart and courageous. More often than not we have female characters who are supposed to not be your typical ‘damsal in distress’, yet when push comes to shove they’re nothing more than a disappointment of the characters you were promised to get.

Another thing I appreciated was the development of Cinderella and Prince Kent’s relationship. Being a novella, it was relatively quick, but, at least we had something that drew the couple together in their bond. We read a growing appreciation for each other and affection for each other as they fought to save the city from the zombie apocalypse. It makes a refreshing change from reading about two people just randomly falling in love for no good reason and being tortured with sappy chapters containing no real plot.

However, some zombie enthusiasts may grind their teeth at some of the mythology in this story. In Cinderella & Zombies, vegetables are able to harm the zombies and potentially kill them. I have to admit, it is a first I’ve ever come across such an idea and it took me a while to accept it.

I can see where many people would find this idea absurd, but this isn’t the first time where supernatural mythology has been altered for the sake of a story. Yet at times this can work if it is done tactfully and works within the plot. Many times we see mythologies altered for no other reason than to clap along like a giddy fan and swoon over how wonderful the creature is.

At least Emily Casey uses her idea of zombies being severely allergic to vegetables as an integral part of her plot and uses it to bind together the story of Cinderella & Zombies. It’s because of such reasons I am willing to forgive such an idea because it was used and used well; plus, I found it funny fending off a zombie with overripe tomatoes.

On the whole, Cinderella & Zombies is a fun and quirky idea that is well written and with good character development. Though it had a couple of things I would criticise, they are nothing that majorly detracts from the story. If you are the type of person who like their classic stories with a twist then Cinderella & Zombies is worth a read, and you can get it here.